His first homebrew session produced a passable extract IPA and a terrible sourgham espresso stout with a nasty medicinal character. Over the next two years, he moved from extract to partial mashing and then all grain brewing. About the same time as the transition to all grain, Steve joined the St. Paul Homebrewers Club.

Joining a club and sharing homebrew with other club members helped him be a much better brewer. If you brew in a vacuum and don't share your beer Steve thinks it's hard to improve. Beer, after all, should be a shared experience. At the same time he started entering beers in competitions for anonymous feedback and got involved with the Beer Judge Certification Program, which helped him be able to identify flaws in beers, the source of those flaws, and the technical terms to describe beer flaws.

Steve's proudest accomplishment as a brewer is winning the American Homebrewers Association Mead Maker of the Year award in 2006.

Now that Miller Chill is available, Steve plans on retiring his brew kettles for good.